Novi Sad and Wading in the Danube

      It is HOT here in Belgrade, we broke 100 today, or were nearly there.  Now it’s a balmy 81 degrees outside the hotel where I’m sitting writing tonight.  It’s just too hot and sticky in Hotel Slavija to work inside except when the laptop battery absolutely demands it, but this has the added side benefit of getting us out of the hotel in search of internet and AC, so far the top places seem to be the McDonalds and the Italian café (delicious food, almost as good as home).  This morning dawned hot and sticky and we piled onto a different bus than the one that brought us to Belgrade (same tour guide, Dragon, though) for our ride to Novi Sad, Vojvodina.  Vojvodina is one (or two, depending on who you ask) of Serbia’s autonomous provinces.  The ride was pretty uneventful, the countryside alternated between flatlands covered in fields of corn or sunflowers as far as the eye could see, and hills with grapes for wines.  On the way we picked up our TA and then stopped at the former seat of the Serbian Patriarch (head of the Orthodox Church here).  There was a baptism going on in the cathedral while we were visiting which was very interesting to see part of, it was much more involved than I remember Catholic baptisms being.  The church was located in such a cute little town, I’m bummed that I can’t remember its name right now.  Given the heat, we all relaxed in a shade with popsicles (mine was orange pineapple? At least those were the pictures on it) before getting back on the bus – it’s amazing how easy it is to get people to try a frozen treat when it’s 30-50 dinars and over 90 degrees.  We also stopped at a special church, one built for both Christians and Muslims on the way.  A short bus ride later we were in Novi Sad where we had some lunch and wandered around, doing anything to beat the heat.  Gelato and a trip to the river were involved.  We ended up wading in the Danube on a crowded beach, clothes and all, because it was just that hot out.  After filling our water bottles for the umpteenth time (everything is a quest for voda these days) we piled back on the bus and a short 2 hrs later we were back in Belgrade.  Tonight’s been spent mostly working although I did get to try an Italian place near the hotel for the first time, since we have our first assignment due soon.  Luckily it got pushed back a few days so tomorrow it’s off to the lake to try and beat the heat.  We’ll see how that goes, but I’m excited for the adventure!

So many sunflowers!

pretty little town

church steeple